The girl in the magazine doesn’t even look like the girl in the magazine.”

The ‘Model Chick’ is the example or the display (model) of what a female (chick) should aspire to in regards to achieving status and social hierarchy. A ‘Model’ is popularly known as career or profession when related to our culture. However, a ‘model’ is also an ideal. It is a standard or example for comparison and imitation. It is an image that portrays a standard into the subconscious of that which it targets. The ‘Model’ is an object. It has no voice of its own. The ‘Model’ does not have an opinion of itself within the message it portrays. It has no reason or responsibility to explain. It is simply the messenger to the followers.

When one pins the statuesque image of a ‘Model Chick’ up against the supposed, ‘ordinary’ female, the two figures are naturally in opposition. The ‘ordinary’ female can always improve and is called out on her insecurity. Since the ‘Model’ chick is the improvement, she is the one who is ‘slaying’ she has no need for improvement. Which brings us to the need to DECODE.

The perception of the ‘Model’ Chick is one that is immaculate. Despite the fact that there are steps in order to acquire this image of perfection.

Just a few years ago, when I was in young love, I remember my boyfriend reading KING magazine. I remember feeling the rise of fire from 1-100 degrees hot, and my kettle blew! I had never felt these feelings before. I was so overpowered by my fiery emotion. I am sure that those whom were observing, pegged me for the insecure type. Realizing that I was displaying deep emotions over a printed picture, I decided too, to override my feelings as being weak and insecure. These feelings of insecurity are ones that needed to be addressed on a journey of self-love. And I have since then begun this journey. I have discovered that the very act of idolizing and ‘modeling’ after fantasy figures was one of the main issues with this insecurity. And yet, it is a commonly practiced ritual throughout all of society -krenadean #cyclebreaker

We are in a state of fear when insecurity is highly felt. Fearis typically stemmed from lack of knowledge. Indeed, having lack of knowledge is what ultimately leads to having lack of Love for one self. When we Decode the Images that dictate to us what is ‘standard’, we can begin to put ourself on the journey towards self-love.

The truth behind the opposition of Model Chick to an ‘ordinary’ girl, is that both sides are connected. One side must exist for the other to. The Model requires insecurity on the part of the individual in order to become something that the individual feels they must ‘model’ after. When ‘Model Chick’ exists, then an insecure, ‘ordinary’ female is then defined. It is essential to understand the perspective of both the ‘model’ and those whom are required to ‘imitate’.

To DE-CODE THE ‘MODEL CHICK’ is to break the conditioning of the human subconscious to need a ‘display’ or ‘figure’ as means of imitation in order to aspire for greatness.

To DE-CODE THE ‘MODEL CHICK’ is to break the psychological separation that keeps us from understanding how we are highly controlled and influenced with mental conditioning of Images, Music and Media.

When one analyzes the history of human beings through an atypical perspective, we may find displays of a psychological need for a female ‘model’ figure; a ‘model chick’. (Resource: Beauty Standards Through the Ages ) The emphasis of beauty, attraction, sex and adoration is shaped through women like Cleopatra, Elizabeth Taylor, Madonna and many others. Quite often, these female ‘role’ models have been idolized decades even, after their deaths. Feminine principles are defined based off of ideals set by some of these female role models.

When we rewind back to the ancient days, where women in Egypt bathed their skin in natural oils, used kohl for eyeliners, and plant roots and spices for perfume, We see that we have always cared for our hair, skin and nails. And there is nothing wrong with a female that wants to look and feel beautiful. These women used the make-up for healing purposes as well as aesthetic purposes. They interlocked makeup practices with rituals as a way to connect to the Gods. There has always been a connection between beauty and spirituality.

Even in the study of Astrology, the planet Venus is one that represents beauty, values, and self-worth. The symbol of Venus is similar to that of the Ankh, which is theorized to represent the womb of a female. As we can see the principles of Beauty and Spirituality seem to cross paths consistently in various spiritual practices.

The perspective that is often overlooked however, is the connection of beauty to status and wealth. These are principles that are not as much spiritual as they are of the societal blueprint of status. Of all the females who felt they needed to imitate the ‘look’ of the upperclass or Gods, it was the ‘ordinary’ females who felt they needed to change their looks for status. The females mimicked their beauty looks from the Pharaoh and Queen as well. From their perspective of poverty or lower class, they looked up to an ‘idol’ or ‘model’ to dictate what is in ‘trend’ and what is ‘beautiful’. Let’s Fast forward in history from Ancient Egypt to the Mangbetu people in Central Africa who practiced elongating their heads from birth till the mid 1900s.

The elongated heads was a status symbol of beauty, power and higher intelligence. TV Personality, Giorgio Tsoukalos, theorized that the African tribes mimicked their elongated heads from the Gods. They began with young babies to wrap the head. Or if we look at the Ndebele tribe of South Africa, and the Kayan people (located between Burma and Thailand), who elongate their necks for ultimate expression of beauty in their culture. They begin early, at the age of 2-5, wear they place neck rings over little girls when their bodies are still developing. Many people can observe this as just apart of the culture. Some people would say it is beautiful. However, many overlook the psychological effects of these practices. Many do not consider the young girls who are being told at a very early age, that they have to change their bodies to mold into beauty.

The concept of the ‘Model Chick’ is an image that feeds the belly of fantasies. It is a far-away ideal for it is something that we desire to be like, because we cannot be it or with it. Without the model, we are left to deal with our reality; ourselves and those around us. With the model, we have perfection to aspire to. Our reality only proves to demonstrate its imperfections. Using these key ingredients, beauty, royalty and reputation, the model establishes status. It promotes the psychological need for hierarchy, by injecting insecurity through the glorification of status. The truth is the model needs the followers more than they, the followers, need the model.

It is my experience that The Fantasy wins over the reality in our present way of thinking. The fantasy has the confidence that the reality has lost. The fantasy is reliable in that it is always there for one to escape to when they do not want to face reality. The fantasy provides the escape from the real feelings in existence. Fantasy is neither good or bad. Today, it is heavily glorified. There is more comparison to the fantasy than the reality in our collective thinking. And because of this we are out of touch with one another. Our understanding of one another is separated due to the growing need of Fantasy.

It is my experience that The Reality is often the losing battle because it is no longer exciting enough. The reality is too ‘ordinary’. The reality appears to bring down the optimism that the fantasy brings. The reality is just too harsh. Many fear reality because they have lived in Fantasy. And it is often a lot more enjoyable to remain in fantasy than to deal with reality. In reality we have to take more responsibility in the role that we play. In the fantasy, we can sit back and allow it to pleasure us. Reality is neither good or bad. But, today it is lightly glorified. We no longer desire reality because Fantasy is overly-hyped in our way of living.

The beginning of the 21st century marks the literal injection of ‘Model Chick’ into feminine principles. It became a term popularly used in mainstream music.

I got this model chick that don’t cook or clean

But she dress her ass off and her walk is mean

Only thing wrong with ma, she’s always on the scene,

God dam she’s fine but she parties all the time

– JAY-Z ‘GIRLS GIRLS GIRLS’

Some would say it gained its highest influence after the ‘Look at Me Now’ track with Chris Brown, Lil Wayne and Busta Rhymes.

‘Yellow Model Chick, Yellow Bottle Sippin’

On Urbandictionary.com, is a site that through a comedic style, defines the ‘urban’ terms popularly used in music and all of ‘Urban’ culture. The ‘Yellow Model Chick‘ is about an oriental female. However seriously one takes the definition on this site, I find it interesting that they use the word ‘oriental’ as a way to describe a style, but not a person. This way the style is highlighted. The female is the canvas or the platform in which to give homage to the look, of Eastern or Asian descent.

On genius.com, a directory for song lyrics, we uncover thousands of songs that use the phrase ‘MODEL CHICK’ and term ranging — all popular from the 2000’s but heavily in the latter part of the decade. As we look at some of these lyrics we can target the principles of beauty and lifestyle that the ‘Model Chick’ represents..

Only clubs that I like gotta have poles ( you know it) Only fuck with model chick, but I play with hoes (you know it) My mansion sitting on forty acres — who the neighbors?

mike stud WE CAN’T STOP (remix)

Model chick came from Philly, fly on every level
Wants to settle down, but she won’t ever settle, no
Uh, so I took her on a date or two

ne-yo ONE IN A MILLION

Top model chick to your every day hood rat Less than all but more than a few

chris brown PICTURE PERFECT

Damn girl set my flame ablaze Top model chick from my favorite page

FROM GENIUS.COM — lyric snippets

Take a quick glance at these lyrics, and you will see that the lifestyle of the ‘Model Chick’ is that she wears high fashion clothes, she loves to party, she’s gorgeous, she dates Rappers, and doesn’t mind if they have sex with other women while dating her. It really is okay if he sexes other women, because she doesn’t like to settle either. She is not like the others. She isn’t your everyday girl. Her features are exotic. Her skin color must be a certain shade. Her look is oriental in style.

Her profession is a ‘Model’.

We are going to look at the reality of our beauty practices in the 21st Century. The psychology behind beauty practices may reveal that we are no different than those that have come before us. And there are some practices that may reveal an insecure psyche. Make-up is an art form of expression and creativity. The Make-up profession is an excellent business to develop artistry and creativity. The growing buzz of this industry has brought to light that even the ‘Model Chick’ does not look like the ‘Model Chick’. This biggest deception of the mainstream media that has come to surface. Now the line is drawn between whether these practices are a means of expression or deception.

Contour and Highlighting is a common practice in make-up artistry. It is there to create contrast, shadows, highlighting and definition to the face. It is a precise technique and requires a lot of practice. Many women are able to access tons of tutorials online for contouring. And the business of make-up video tutorials on YouTube is growing. It is beneficial to have access to an education like this on your fingertips. As we dive into exploring the results of the influence of make-up techniques of the mainstream Media has on our everyday women.

I have always found the results of contouring to be remarkable. But I have never felt comfortable with the practice of contouring the nose because when you contour the nose you create a lighter and darker shade to shape the nose. This creates false shadows that is intentional to make the nose look slimmer. I believe there is nothing wrong with my nose. And there is no need to go that far. I may be pushing some buttons on this. So let’s push those buttons…

The numbers of the Black hair industry is projected to gross over $700 Billion by 2017. Chris Rock produced Good Hair in 2009, and in this documentary we witnessed the beauty practices of Black Women. What was most captivating for me was watching the young little girl get her hair ‘permed’. This reminds me that we often see our most harmful practices when we witness a child having to abide by them. We were exposed to the harmful chemicals in hair relaxers and how they can cause major trauma to the uterus. And since this time, there has been a rise of Black Women who have been changing their haircare practices. I too, am on the journey of changing my own due to the knowledge that was spread in this film. I have been inspired by the many women who have changed their ways to break the cycle of using Hair relaxers. (Huffington Post: The Changing Business of Black Hair )

What continues to remain steady in the financial boom of Black Hair is the use of Weaves and Wigs. The versatility for these practices is a benefit to the psyche. Women feel they can have their hair protected, while they change up their styles. However, maintaining a weave can weigh heavily on our pockets. When the necessity to have a weave becomes a burden, then we find a harmful beauty practice. Wigs and weaves for monthly maintenance can add up to at least $3500/year. With the impact of Weave sales in the Hair Industry, we seem to overlook how many women cannot afford it, but they will still spend.

Let’s also quickly mention the ‘look’ of a weave is typically one of thick straight, or wide ‘S’ curl type of hair. Only recently has there been an incline of weaves that are coily, curly. But the weaves styles that dominate the market are ones that resemble an Indian / Asian style. (see: 5 Types of Weave )

Skin lightening is also common in beauty practices. It is evident that in beauty supply stores in my neighborhood there is an ample amount of shelf space for skin lightning creams. And the growing use of skin lightening cream is global. In 2014, a study by the World Health Organization revealed that 77% of women Nigeria used a skin lightening cream. As well of parts of South Asia that have resulted in high use of lightening creams. The epidemic is paralleled with recent exposure of celebrities whom are photoshopped lighter on Magazine covers. Kerry Washington, Lupita Nyong’o, and Beyonce have been shown with lighter skin on photo edits of InStyle, Vanity Fair, and L’Oreal.

The Documentary ‘Dark Girls’ Reveals the insecurity of Black women and their skin color. Could this insecurity about the color of our skin have a direct effect on how we as women view our make-up, hair and skin routine as well? The ancient civilizations aligned beauty with spirituality. Were they telling us that there is a direct relation to our beauty and our spiritual selves? And are our actions revealing a healthy temple of self-worth or something else?

The Mainstream Media, which includes Music, Film, Books, TV and everything that is related to the idea of ‘trending’, has an immense influence on the actions of its customers. This is because the Media has the most outreach when it comes to popular images. When we study the subconscious mind, we learn that the the subconscious is like a sponge that absorbs these images.

The subconscious mind operates off of these images and influences any decision making. In order for someone to say they are independent and free, they would have to study their own subconscious mind. For this is the gatherer of information for the body as a whole unit. When we consider the images on TV, Magazines, film, music and music videos we can see that these images are connected to the aspirations of the Look and status of the 21st Century Model Chick.

Many often conclude that women in modern culture, dress to impress other women. And the most criticism women receive is by other women. When you observe a group of people that demonstrate a lack of self-love in their actions, you are then able to see how they can be manipulated. There is a separated-ness within the group. As no one really trusts one another, because there is no trust within themselves, many tend to criticize one another for their choices in comparison to their ‘model’ figure. There is a level of hierarchy within the group, when one appears to have imitated or emulated the ‘model’ the best out of the others. The ideal ‘Model Chick’ is the display of a superior lifestyle and status for many women in our culture. As we can see from basic practices, women are attempting to ‘imitate’ the look of the images of ‘Model’s in Mainstream Media.

At this point, there is no limit to what one can do to achieve self-confidence through the imitation of the model. Plastic Surgery, is profitable mostly as a cosmetic need than a serious medical one. Liposuction, nose jobs, breast implants, and now butt implants are just some of the popular beauty procedures that are typical to practice in our society. Whatever it takes to gain the status that our popular stars portray.We are so mesmerized by this fantasy image that we need to achieve, we will now go under the knife to alter our bodies and achieve it. What is even more of a concern is how we are so immune to these practices that we do not see how normal they are becoming in our everyday lives. Through the eyes of a #cyclebreaker, It is quite bizarre the ‘normal’ that we have come to accept.

Lets consider two controversial figures in the Media who alter themselves just as many in our society do. However, there is tension and criticism depending on whom you ask because the controversy is over gender vs. race. When we look at the beauty practices of both figures, we see that they have done nothing different than many have already done. Altering body parts, adding weaves, and changing skin color are the common practices that have just been analyzed in this post and are that which both Caitlin Jenner and Rachel Dolezal have participated in. And yet, we can turn a blind eye to that very fact. What reflects in the Media, reflects within the people and vice versa.

Through the eyes of compassion, we can understand that at the root of any problem when it comes to beauty, is the imbalance of spirituality and self-worth. When we are not in alignment with our values, we become impressionable to outside influences. It is essential to understand this so that we can move on and happily enjoy our beauty practices. The industry is a promising one, but it is essential to break the cycle of harmful choices within this booming industry. And maybe possibly, we can find someone to ‘model’ after that reminds us of who we really are… like ourselves.

I have found on my beauty journey, many new practices that help to heal the programming of desiring an image that is not like myself. One practice I have included is discovering my ancestry. When we look at our bloodlines and consider where we came from, we will find authentic culture that will inspire us to represent our unique imprint. Even make-up practices become different than the standard as you explore what amplifies your beauty. I respect the artistry of make-up and choose to partake in it as well. As long as I am mindful of the choices that I make. Answering the question, does this amplify my beauty or cover it up?

I find that it is essential to infiltrate my subconscious with images that are more realistic and natural to myself. On my hair journey, I have discovered that there are many women who understand the psychological changes when it comes to embracing their natural hair. And choose to take the route of surrounding themselves with images that are more like their hair type. It is through this experience that I have come to decode the standard ‘model chick’ as this is the image that no longer serves my subconscious. I do not choose to completely eliminate the fantasy, but to keep both my reality and fantasies within balance. As a healthy spiritual practice demonstrates that achieving balance within is all that we should aspire for.

2 thoughts on “Decoding: The ‘Model’ Chick”

The “ideal body image” has caused women to suffer from eating disorders (20 million in the U.S).If this number doesn’t disturb you, then I don’t know what else would. Kareen,It was a well-written topic. Thanks for pushing buttons where we would rather ignore them.

Getting some shit off my chest. Calling all astrology geeks, elevated freaks, love makers and cycle breakers. This one's for you!
Hello! I am Kareen, an artist based out of Brooklyn, NYC. Krena Dean is my alias, my platform to merge astrology, spirituality and music. I have studied music and astrology separately, until I recognized the beauty in uniting my interests for healing.
'The Cycle Breaker' was created to contribute to the elevation of te collective consciousness. By breaking the cycles of thought that keep up bonded to unconsciousness we can elevate...Together
please reach out to me on twitter: @krenadean